


Surprise me

by ShadowSelene (Shadowdianne)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 11:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21014681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/ShadowSelene
Summary: “I wouldn’t have expected to find you here.”The words weren’t said with despondency or pity, just a statement carried out by an accent Hermione didn’t remember no other member of the Malfoy or Black family had but months of listening to similar comments made a part of her old Gryffindor pride surge for a moment, feathers ruffled and wounded, before she managed to settle in a softer response.





	Surprise me

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Ok, this one is brought by a brief convo with my roommate regarding kinktober, fluff and her take that, apparently, I’m a fucking troll and I cannot write wholesomeness without writing angst or h/c in the process.  
(She is right, but we are not going to tell her that, shhh)  
So, yeah, enjoy me being stubborn and deciding I want to write some warmth. (And failing)  
M, if you ever get to read this: Hey, tell me your Tumblr, pretty please? *bats eyelashes* Or take at least one point from your dammed list xD

The coffee glimmered as the hex settled in, the former tepidness of the drink changing to the preferred temperature of the customer. Customer that, with a barely-there grunt, paid for it before turning away, leaving Hermione with a fixed smiled on her lips and a dying “Have a good day” no one really seemed eager to receive.

The young witch sighed as she craned her neck, wrists rotating as she spelled the stiffness she felt away. It was barely mid-morning, the end of her shift nothing but a speck on the horizon and she still longed for her bed and the coziness her sheets emanated. She truly wasn’t a morning person.

She never had been, to be honest. Her years as a Hogwarts student had been spent in the library and trying to save the Boy who Lived in a myriad of different ways; her morning routine a slowly decaying habit she never had had the necessity to salvage until she had been out of her academic responsibilities. And so, there she now: hating the golden halo of the morning light and wishing for her enchanted clock to ring a little bit later.

Cold help in some ways despite the abysmal feeling of getting up with chilly grazes on the soles of her feet as autumnal light made the dreading moment of waking up slightly easier if only for the promise of the scent of fall and the end of yet another year tickling her nose. She always had preferred the cold after all: summer storms nothing she had always been far too fond of.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chiming bell that signaled yet another customer; the wind from outside bringing with it the scent of leaves and rain that Hermione gulped down almost greedily before her eyes settled in the newcomer.

Blonde tresses and pale skin being the first thing she saw; the young witch recognized the older one in a second. It wasn’t difficult after all; Narcissa Black was recognizable enough even without the signature scowl Hermione had once upon a time linked to her. Trials done, war finished, and pardon granted the blonde woman who blinked almost lazily in the coffee’s atmosphere was an almost distant shadow of this other Ice Queen and the brunette couldn’t help herself as her gaze lingered, a faint spike on her heartbeat creating rippling waves on her stomach.

She had followed the Malfoy trial with special interest, an interest that had transformed into a distant obsession the longer an answer was dragged through the mud journalists had created. When the decision had been stalled by the news of the marriage’s divorce the brunette had read the news avidly and had needed to force herself out of the squiggly lines of written paper as she had felt her mind spiraling down with interest. And now, Narcissa Malfoy was staring at her; eyes widening in recognition.

“I wouldn’t have expected to find you here.”

The words weren’t said with despondency or pity, just a statement carried out by an accent Hermione didn’t remember no other member of the Malfoy or Black family had but months of listening to similar comments made a part of her old Gryffindor pride surge for a moment, feathers ruffled and wounded, before she managed to settle in a softer response.

“I could say the same to you.”

Narcissa smiled a little at the words, a barely-there smile, one that made one side of her lips quiver, amusement coloring her cheeks for a second too long. Hermione found that pink suited her.

It was almost strange, the brunette found herself thinking; how easy and yet how charged words came to her in front of this woman after having followed the last bits of a story narrated to others under the pretense of gossip. Not like there was any other customer in sight, someone who would be able to share such stories with.

If Ginny would have been there Hermione suspected that the redhead would have already quirked and eyebrow on her direction, commanding her to do something regarding the faint quickened pulse on her temples, on her neck. But the Weasley girl wasn’t there and so Hermione simply stood a little bit straighter, shoulders back and hands at the ready for an order Narcissa seemed unsure now on giving.

Which was the trigger, maybe, to how, grasping her wand firmly, Hermione pointed at the list of possible beverages that were displayed at her left, the non-magical ones shimmering under the sparks the sign had been charmed with.

“Is there anything…”

“Surprise me.”

The command trapped any future words on Hermione’s throat and made the younger woman swallow. It wasn’t the first time she had been told that; often creating a surge of mild unease. This time, however, she bit down on her bottom lip and let her eyes wander over the selection they had, the spells she could use over the drinks; mind full, brain loud.

She wasn’t an idiot, she could understand the reactions her body was having. Knowing what to do with them, however, was an entirely different thing. Which was the reason, probably, why she decided something plain, simple, would probably be for the better.

That was her crux after all; a Gryffindor at heart but one that held far too many self-doubt in situations in where her logic couldn’t aid her.

“How about a latte?”

If Narcissa was waiting for something slightly more adventurous she didn’t show: the half smile that had appeared on her lips after the command still on her mouth when Hermione gazed at her once more. Still, the brunette felt as if she had failed a test. One that made her look away just as quickly, red burning her cheeks.

She made the latte, the spell that would keep the drink warm longer, the taste richer, easy and done with an almost afterthought as her left hand swayed, thumb pressed against her forefinger. The serving was done in less than a second, the exchange mechanic all of a sudden, the mug cold against her fingertips, skin clammy.

When the mug slipped from her grasp, she didn’t feel surprised, the sure touch of longer fingers, however, did. Steadying the mug, Narcissa’s smile turned sharper for a moment: a glimpse of curiosity peeking with interest as she paid, gold coins ricocheting against the counter.

“Keep the change.”

Hermione cradled the coins on her hand as Narcissa turned and left, the chiming bell less cheery and much darker the second time around.

Groaning, the younger witch covered her face, letting the coins fall once more against the counter as she growled inwardly: stupid, so stupid.

The next day, however, Narcissa was back.

“Surprise me.” She said yet again, lips and eyes sharp, a glint of pride in her eyes, a promise of something, maybe, perhaps, on the blue if Hermione dared to jump.

And Hermione decided to try it.

**Author's Note:**

> (Insert here obligatory comment about how I very rarely tend to write second parts out of one shots)


End file.
